Eurogamer.net has an image of a promotional flyer that indicates the PC edition of Assassin's Creed III will not be released alongside the console editions of the stealth action sequel as planned on October 30th, but will instead be sneaking into stores on November 23rd (which is a Friday, so this may be fine-tuned for North America. Ubisoft told them: "The Windows PC release date is still to be announced."

From what I've seen and read, AC3 doesn't seem like much of an improvement. With each iteration of the series, they've added some new features but failed to address the core failings. The games are simply too shallow. The platforming, the combat, the stealth... none of these elements measures up. Sure, everything looks great but the actual gameplay isn't nearly as compelling. Everything is too streamlined and automated.

Liking America's history, AC3 excited me. It made me doubt my decision to mark Revelations as *same old boring shit* a few months ago after I played it for 2 hours back then.

So, I started it up again. Open-minded; maybe even positively biased. I'm 3 or 4 hours in now... but holy crap that shit is boring. I don't think I'll be able to start Revelations up again. New feature: bombs, that you have to assemble through an unfriendly mechanism. Who cares about new combat abilities when you can annihilate an entire city on your own?

Revelations didn't make me more excited for AC3. It did the exact, EXACT opposite.

Jerykk wrote on Jun 22, 2012, 22:56:Not sure why Ubisoft insists on delaying its PC ports. It's an established fact that delaying a port results in fewer sales. Most players aren't going to wait weeks/months just to play the PC version. Now, if Ubisoft made more money per console version sale, the delays would make sense. Except that's not how it works. The PC version has a higher profit margin, particularly with digitally distributed copies. No manufacturing costs, no shipping costs, no console-maker royalties, no retailer bribes for shelf space... you'd think that Ubisoft would want to focus on PC sales in order to maximize profits.

The first AC had refinements for the PC version, and I believe the rest did as well. If they were crappy ports (DRM aside) I could understand why people are scratching their heads, but we have to be honest.If you released a torrent for the PC, Xbox, and PS3 at the same time on the internet, the PC version would be downloaded the most. It's the easiest version to get and use.So if I were trying to get the max amount of people to buy my game, I sure as hell wouldn't release the PC version (which is also typically cheaper then the console versions), at the same time.

The PC version will be downloaded the most regardless of when it is released. You should be more interested in selling as many PC copies as possible and if you want to do that, release it at the same time as the console versions. Contrary to misguided opinion, neither PC sales nor piracy have any effect on console sales. Console gamers will always buy the console versions by default. That's why they're console gamers. Hell, most console gamers aren't even aware that most games are also available on PC. If you went to GameStop or Best Buy and told an employee that GTA4 was released on PC, they probably wouldn't believe you. Same with Street Fighter 4, RE4, Devil May Cry 4, Arkham City or any other delayed port.

Smart publishers know that delays hurt sales. This is why EA delayed the PC release of DAO for a year, even though it was pretty much ready to go. They knew that nobody would care about the console versions if they were released a year later. This is also why MS pays so much money for timed DLC exclusivity. They know that consumers are generally impatient and that a one month delay is enough to hurt sales on other platforms.

Jerykk wrote on Jun 22, 2012, 22:56:Not sure why Ubisoft insists on delaying its PC ports. It's an established fact that delaying a port results in fewer sales. Most players aren't going to wait weeks/months just to play the PC version. Now, if Ubisoft made more money per console version sale, the delays would make sense. Except that's not how it works. The PC version has a higher profit margin, particularly with digitally distributed copies. No manufacturing costs, no shipping costs, no console-maker royalties, no retailer bribes for shelf space... you'd think that Ubisoft would want to focus on PC sales in order to maximize profits.

The first AC had refinements for the PC version, and I believe the rest did as well. If they were crappy ports (DRM aside) I could understand why people are scratching their heads, but we have to be honest.If you released a torrent for the PC, Xbox, and PS3 at the same time on the internet, the PC version would be downloaded the most. It's the easiest version to get and use.So if I were trying to get the max amount of people to buy my game, I sure as hell wouldn't release the PC version (which is also typically cheaper then the console versions), at the same time.

Using a steering wheel on a Burnout game is like using the Space Shuttle controls to fly a kite.

ItBurn wrote on Jun 23, 2012, 08:35:PC delays are a great thing. Developers always put all their efforts in the 360 and ps3 versions. These small delays make sure that they give the PC version more love, so that it doesn't suck.

Actually I think they just give these a month or two of delays so that they can get a head start on piracy, given their strange obsession with it.

ItBurn wrote on Jun 23, 2012, 08:35:PC delays are a great thing. Developers always put all their efforts in the 360 and ps3 versions. These small delays make sure that they give the PC version more love, so that it doesn't suck.

That assumes that the PC versions are actually being worked on during those delays. The delays could be done entirely for marketing or other business purposes that have nothing to do with development.

Jerykk wrote on Jun 22, 2012, 22:56:Not sure why Ubisoft insists on delaying its PC ports. It's an established fact that delaying a port results in fewer sales. Most players aren't going to wait weeks/months just to play the PC version. Now, if Ubisoft made more money per console version sale, the delays would make sense. Except that's not how it works. The PC version has a higher profit margin, particularly with digitally distributed copies. No manufacturing costs, no shipping costs, no console-maker royalties, no retailer bribes for shelf space... you'd think that Ubisoft would want to focus on PC sales in order to maximize profits.

Yeah, that might contribute to less pc sales, and thus, a grimer view of the PC market.

Not sure why Ubisoft insists on delaying its PC ports. It's an established fact that delaying a port results in fewer sales. Most players aren't going to wait weeks/months just to play the PC version. Now, if Ubisoft made more money per console version sale, the delays would make sense. Except that's not how it works. The PC version has a higher profit margin, particularly with digitally distributed copies. No manufacturing costs, no shipping costs, no console-maker royalties, no retailer bribes for shelf space... you'd think that Ubisoft would want to focus on PC sales in order to maximize profits.